Don’t blame Ethiopian volcano eruption for Mumbai’s poor air quality: HC to state
A division bench said that the visibility in the city was poor even before the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region erupted on November 23
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to accept the Maharashtra government’s claim that the recent volcanic eruption in Ethiopia was responsible for the city’s deteriorating air quality.
A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam stated that the visibility in the city was poor even before the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region erupted on November 23. “Even before this eruption, if one stepped out, visibility was poor beyond 500 metres,” the judges said.
The bench made the comment while hearing a bunch of petitions, filed in 2023, concerning air pollution in Mumbai. Senior counsel Darius Khambata and advocate Pooja Thorat had requested the court to urgently take up the petitions, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city has been continuously hazardous, crossing 300 this month.
The court had taken up the matter suo moto (on its own) two years ago after noticing the rapid deterioration of air quality in Mumbai. It had noted news reports stating that air quality consistently hovered between “poor” and “very poor,” with Mumbai ranked seventh on the list of the world’s most polluted cities. News reports at the time also highlighted a 30% rise in the number of children with respiratory distress, and that particulate matter (PM) in the city was more than double the national standards.
On Thursday, the petitioners’ lawyers submitted fresh data to the court, reflecting that the overall AQI in Mumbai was 278 on November 27. In Wadala, the AQI had touched a record 410, while it was as high as 479 in Navi Mumbai.
Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan then told the court that the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia on November 23 had worsened the air pollution in the city. The eruption produced a large ash plume, which soared up to 14 kilometres into the sky and then spread eastward across the Red Sea, over Yemen and Oman, and then over the Arabian Sea towards the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.
However, the court refused to accept the state government’s claim that the ash cloud was responsible for Mumbai’s air pollution, and asked the parties to suggest effective measures to control it. The bench referred to the situation in Delhi, which is witnessing alarming AQI levels. “What can be the most effective measures? We are all seeing what is happening in Delhi. What is the effect of that?” the bench said.
The court also directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take immediate steps to improve the city’s air quality, noting that the measures undertaken so far had not been effective.
The next hearing in the matter will be held on Friday.
The Bombay High Court dismissed the Maharashtra government's assertion that a recent Ethiopian volcanic eruption caused Mumbai's poor air quality, noting visibility issues predated the event. The court highlighted alarming AQI levels, with a peak of 479 recorded, and directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to implement effective air quality improvement measures. The next hearing is scheduled for Friday.